mes cheveux
In French, "my hair" is translated as mes cheveux.
Mes cheveux is a neutral way to refer to the strands of hair growing from a person's head. When describing hair, you can use various adjectives: for color, you might use brun (brown), châtain (chestnut), noir (black) or roux (red). For length, you can use court (short) or long (long). And for texture, you can use lisse (straight), bouclé (curly) or ondulé (wavy).
Which one should you use?
While mes cheveux is the standard term, ma chevelure is a more formal and poetic way to express the concept and ma crinière is used metaphorically to describe hair that is particularly long or voluminous.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Quebec, the informal term ma touffe is used to refer to hair.
What mistakes should you avoid?
Avoid using the singular mon cheveu to mean "my hair". In French, this would literally mean "my single strand of hair".
Did you know?
- In French, the word cheveux is used exclusively for the hair on the head, while hair on other parts of the body is called poils.
- The word cheveu is often used in the French idiom couper un cheveu en quatre, which means to overcomplicate a simple matter.
- The word cheveux comes from the Latin word capillus, which originally referred to a fine hair or a thread. This is the same root that gives English the word 'capillary'.
Examples in context
- Aimes-tu mes cheveux ?Do you like my hair?This example asks for an opinion on the form mes cheveux.Tatoeba #8377920 by felix63, translation #3123320 by CK
- Mes cheveux sont gris.My hair is gray.This example describes the color of the form mes cheveux.Tatoeba #10074640 by lbdx, translation #9188554 by CK
- Mes cheveux ont poussé.My hair has grown out.This example describes the growth of the form mes cheveux.Tatoeba #3137914 by Aiji, translation #282704 by shekitten
- J'ai lavé mes cheveux ce matinI washed my hair this morning
- J'aime ma chevelure naturelleI love my natural hair
- Je suis fière de ma crinière onduléeI'm proud of my wavy mane
- 35 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Chloé is showing a new hairstyle to Nathan at a cafe.
- ChloéQu'est-ce que tu penses de mes cheveux ?What do you think of my hair?
- NathanIls sont magnifiques, Chloé.They are magnificent, Chloé.
- ChloéMerci, je les ai coupés hier.Thank you, I cut them yesterday.
- NathanÇa te va très bien.It suits you very well.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
